The Department of Homeland Security has increased national security reviews of travelers who overstay their visas, including cross-checking individuals with interagency databases. Announcing a program that effectively started this past spring, DHS deputy counterterrorism coordinator John Cohen revealed that a recent check of 1.6 million overstay records resulted in follow up investigations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents of almost 2,000 individuals deemed possible threats to national security or public safety. The program, initially recommended by the 9/11 Commission in response to the terrorist hijackers who overstayed their visas, is expected to continue for the indefinite future. From the New York Daily News.